As much as it hurts every fan to not see Tyrese Haliburton playing alongside his teammates, he is taking it just as hard – if not harder.
In his vlog about the Indiana Pacers' season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Haliburton opened up about his emotions as he was set to begin the season sitting on the sidelines.
“I'm excited for them, but obviously my excitement level isn't what it is when I'm playing, you know? So, I go through phases. I go through phases where I'm just like, I wish that I could just close my eyes and blink and get the 'Click' remote from the movie Adam Sandler and just simulate the year.”
This raw honesty is not terribly surprising for fans to hear. The truth is, this is what many of us are thinking, too.
The emotions run deep for the Pacers this season
It is encouraging and even exciting to see the Pacers’ star running again and jumping again. Heck, he even dunked a few weeks ago (don’t worry, the NBA drug tested him). That doesn’t change the fact that he is still sidelined for the foreseeable future as the team struggles on the court.
Many of us can relate to Haliburton’s sentiment that we wish we could “just simulate the year” and experience our team playing at full strength and speed. Not to belittle the injuries of those like Jayson Tatum or Damian Lillard, but the timing and situation of Haliburton’s make this season even harder than just the loss of a superstar. The fall from forcing an NBA Finals Game 7 to a 1-10 record with an injury report longer than my grocery list has been swift, and it has taken a toll on everyone connected to the organization -- players, coaches, and fans.
There is still excitement to be had for the Pacers
Even in the midst of such difficulty, there is still excitement around this team.
There are 71 games left. The regular season runs through April. We have a lot of exciting pieces to this team, and they are, slowly, getting healthy again. I think Hali said it well – even though the excitement may not be to the level of what it normally is, there is still excitement. It will be fun to see Haliburton in front of the camera a bit more.
The team will be competitive and will bring their best each night. This will be entertaining and, at times, thrilling as we await the return of our franchise player and our return to the top echelon of teams in the NBA.